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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. scale — in music
  4. file — a document
  5. last — final
  6. file — a tool
  7. scale — size or range
  8. perch — the fish
  9. bound — tied together
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. cell — a phone
  12. bore — to tire
  13. bound — certain
  14. last — finally
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. file — a line of people
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. bore — to drill
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. bound — obliged
  21. last — to go on
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. cell — in biology
  24. wax — to grow

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com